COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Dai-ing for the season to end after a poor Games

DAI Greene is calling time on his season after another disappointing performance at a home Games in Glasgow.

The former world champion, who is based in Beanacre, disappointed at the Olympics two years ago but at least he made the final.

On Wednesday, at the Glasgow 2014 Common-wealth Games, he finished a distant fifth in his 400m hurdles heat, clocking a time of 50.36 seconds that was over two-and-a-half seconds slower than his personal best.

However, he insisted he didn't have high hopes of defending the title he won four years ago at Delhi 2010, after three recent hernia operations and a delayed start to the season.

"I’m disappointed as no-one wants to miss out on the final and I did have ambition of making it with a good lane draw," said Greene, who captained the Great Britain athletics team at London 2012.

“I lack that specific work on speed endurance and it really showed. I had nothing left coming down the home straight, I felt the guys draw level and then they were gone and I couldn’t respond.

“It’s frustrating but that’s the way it is. I wasn’t sure how I would feel at the end of the race so it was just a voyage of discovery and obviously I really paid for it.

“I’m disappointed but three months ago I didn’t think I would be on the start line. I knew three months ago that this season would not be what I wanted.

“I don’t like losing or finishing down the field but I know I didn’t do enough training to be Common-wealth champion. I know it takes months and months, even a year of training to do it and it’s got to go really well.

“I knew I wasn’t in that sort of shape but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to wear a Welsh vest and experience the crowd.”

Greene was hopeful of running himself into the Great Britain team for next month’s European Champ-ionships in Zurich but he will now end his season after failing to achieve the qualifying standard.

Meanwhile, the 28-year old has expressed surprise that two of his Welsh teammates – Gareth Warburton and fellow 400m hurdler Rhys Williams – had been suspended for alleged doping violations.

Both men have blamed a supplement for the adverse readings and Greene expressed some sympathy for their plight.

“I used to live with Gareth and he’s a good friend and I know he's not that sort of guy,” he added.

“When we lived together he only had the money to eat raisins and couscous, so I don’t think he's organising a drugs ring.

“Rhys and I don’t really get on, but I know he’s not the sort of person to cheat. I believe they've been careless or misled but they are not cheats.

“They have already been punished quite severely in terms of missing the Commonwealths and they’ll be too old for the next one to be in any sort of good shape.”

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